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Culture
History, music, cooking, travel, books, theatre, film - but also with an eye on the 'culture wars', nationalism and identity.
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The White Knuckle Ride of 2022
From Partygate to Trussomics, the death of the Monarch, and the humiliation of Vladimir Putin, OttoEnglish's review of the year takes us on a roller coaster of major fails and meteoric falls
In Neo-Dickensian Britain Politicians Should Heed the Ghost of Marley
There's a reason Dickens' Christmas Carol is a perennial festive favourite, says A V Deggar – the Malthusian ideas of Scrooge are still with us
‘Who’s Virginia Woolf Afraid Of?’
Stephen Unwin explores how the famed author's views about disability were typical of a growing intellectual endorsement of the dangerous ideology of eugenics in the early 20th century
Irony: The Velvet Glove of Colonialism?
Did the Greeks invent irony? Rahila Gupta makes the case for Britain's mastery and ownership of the device
The Identity Trap: No One Narrative Can Encompass the Different Dimensions of Diversity
As Britain welcomes its first Asian Prime Minister, Hardeep Matharu explores how our pluralistic society is reflected in the multiplicity of its migrant experience – as demonstrated by the different reactions to Rishi Sunak’s rise
British Identity: The Empire’s Spectacle
The mourning of the Queen’s death has been, largely unconsciously, a nation in a state of 'appearing', writes Joe Haward
Putin’s Real War and His War of Words
Sian Norris considers Martha Gellhorn's classic 1966 examination of propaganda, Real War And War Of Words, and updates it for Putin's invasion of Ukraine
‘Out of the Picture: After the Queen’s Death, Will Britain Finally Confront Itself?’
Britain has hidden a key part of our story from ourselves. With the Queen’s death marking a decisive shift, it’s time for us all to start building a better picture of our country and its past, writes Hardeep Matharu
‘Queen Elizabeth II: Symbolically Potent, Politically Powerless’
Anthony Barnett reflects on the passing of the ‘New Elizabethan Age’ and how sovereignty and monarchy have moved apart
The Identity Trap: Race, Representation and the Rise of Conservative Diversity
Rishi Sunak is in the running to be Britain’s first prime minister of colour – but the debate around whether this will be a good thing for ethnic minorities has laid bare conflicting ideas about the 'individual' and the 'collective', writes Hardeep Matharu
The Upside Down: Breaking the Frame of History
John Mitchinson lifts the lid on why the Luddites weren’t really ‘Luddite’
The Upside Down: Themself Alone
John Mitchinson explores a surprisingly modern role model from the backstreets of Jacobean London
‘Mr Jones’ Review: A Timely If Flawed Watch on the Ukrainian Holodomor
As another Russian dictator uses Ukrainian grain as a weapon of war, this 2020 historical thriller is worth a watch, writes Ellin Stein
Resting Place: Marking My Grandmother’s Grave Helped Me Find My European Identity
Patrick Howse shares the story of three generations of his family – a tale of loss, discovery, conflict and plural identities
The Upside Down: We Won’t Bow Down – What I Learned in New Orleans
John Mitchinson reflects on his latest trip to the ‘Big Easy’
